they are at the federal government. the libertarian from texas, paul, surged to double the support he had here in the 2008 caucuses. polling second in one iowa voters survey, first in another, ron paul is on a role, slamming big brother government. >> this idea you have to give up liberties to be safe is nonsense. >> reporter: hanging on every word, james, mark and chris. mark switched candidates, again. >> started off bachman, cain, perry, now ron paul. >> reporter: his friend watching, unconvinced. also surging is rick santorum. he's focused on iowa. finally, he's polling third or fourth out of seven. if iowa says you are the guy, pushing us up to the top tier, they won't be able to ignore us anymore. >> reporter: newt gingrich is looking at later primaries. >> i'm 20 points ahead in other states. it would be foolish not to stay in the race. it's a long way from picking a nominee. >> reporter: mitt romney, for the first time, figures he can win iowa. >> i want to make sure your vote backing me is the vote that leads me to become the nominee. >> reporter: his new ad is all over iowa tv. >> the american i